reinvigorate

My friends, I am on break, and I am living the life.
I've been snowboarding in Vermont, playing pond hockey in the moonlight, falling asleep late and waking up early. Today, snow fell thick, and as I type I am looking out into a winter wonderland. Life has been fantastic, but I am feeling like a complete slacker. Because I don't feel like telling cute anecdotes to supplement the bores of research, I am going to update you, the glorious and always curious internet user, by tossing out a bunch of ideas, thoughts and lists.

I have finished, with some scanning, The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices (1999). I thought a lot of the information presented was obvious, but enjoyed the concrete studies and examples used to back their conclusions. 7 things the book discussed--

1. The leading sonsuption-related environmental problems are air pollution, global warming, habitat alteration, and water pollution. Pretty straight foward.
2. The most harmful consumer activities come from Household operations, Food, and Transportation. I call these The Big Three. The Big Three will be concentrated on in 2 week segments, but more on this later.
3. Choosing where you live is extremely important. Suburban sprawl is a major problem, and is the result of subsidized road development, a car oriented culture, and a lack of proper planning.
4. Don't fret over minor consumption choices, but limit high impact activities. A concentration by the media on overconsumption has hurt the environmental movement (the fallacy of a garbage crisis in 1980s). Frugality is not the answer, and instead smarter, more efficient, development is needed.
5. In 1997 an American citizen, on average, consumed 106 times as much commercial energy than a citizen of Bangladesh. At that time we represented only 5 percent of the worlds population, yet we used 25% of the oil, 23% of the coal, 27 % of the aluminum and 19% of the copper (British Petroleum, statistical review of world energy, 97')
6. Purchase products that don't harm the environment as much- organic food , energy star appliances, renewable energy...
7. While we must change our individual habits it is crucial to bug the heck out of the government. Ask them to make the marketplace work for the environment (German companies have to pay for the disposal of what they sell, while American companies don't have any connection to the waste their sold packaging and goods produce). Ask them to search for a way to tax pollution,  very controversial but exceptionally effective, "Economists like the fact that even as taxes provide financial reasons to take better care of the environment, they ultimately leave the final decision on what to buy and do up to consumers acting through the free market." (152) . Tax shifting also is a viable option as it wouldn't  cost more overall, but would shift from income taxes to taxes on polluting activities. (check this article out for more info http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/04/lowering-income-taxes-raising-pollution-taxes.php) At this time our greatest industries rely on the most polluting activities. The government subsidizes the oil industry, they pay only a 11 percent income tax rate while the average for other companies is 18%. Water is subsidized; in 1999 irrigation received subsides totaling 2.5 billion, and because of this farmers don't have the incentive to install more efficient irrigation systems. Timber companies are subsided around 1 billion dollars a year.The list goes on. Tax incentives, a nuance of tax hikes, seems more easily accepted--  for example $3000 tax credits for buying a Prius (an incentive that has just expired, as hybrid cars have become a more established market click for more info). Finally we should continue to ask the government to set a limit on emissions and allow companies to trade pollution permits, a method used in the Kyoto Protocol.

Educate yourself, educate the public, be ambitious, focus on ecosystem protection, make existing communities and older housing attractive, these are some of the many calls to arms of the Consumers Guide.

 Last week I had a mentor meeting with the Old WISE One, aka Miss G, in which we discussed, or rather she told me in the 20 seconds (literally) we had, that I needed a plan. 

"We all love to wander, but without direction you wont end up where you want to be." 

"Ya I know Miss G, I watched Winne the Pooh."

Here's the plan, mam. 

I will have a two week concentration on The Big Three- Household Operations, Food, and Transportation. I will start with food. In that two week span I will

• Research, primarily, said topic
• Concentrate on lowering my environmental impact in that area
• Conduct at least one interview related to concentration
• Have a "I wonder session" (Mrs. Gergely's method of brainstorming and gently suggestion to myself and others)
• Make a short film about the topic

After these next 6 weeks I will concentrate on connecting with organizations--school, and local government.


Along with the concentration I must continue to have data on--

• Water use
• electricity use
• miles driven
• money spent by parents and me on food/groceries 

and have recorded--

• the local food I've eaten
• notes on research

Weekly Words

I drove over 100 miles less last week than the week before, as a result of biking and mooching rides. However, I drove 480 miles, with 2 friends,  to Vermont and back. Ski resorts produce fake snow, containing harmful chemicals, and they use a plethora of energy for lifts, grooming, etc. ouchhhhhhhhh.

Sunday I will interview Scott VanGaasbeck, owner of Frog Hill Pottery, about his journey living off the land. I just visited the new house he is building, it's huge, and he is constructing it all by himself.

Thank you Jenny for showing me this carbon calculator-http://calc.zerofootprint.net/branches/10642. Will use.

Thank you Jackie for telling me about The CSA farm fair on March 5th

I just received in email from a member of Energy Independent Caroline, asking if I was interested in getting involved in teaching Caroline Elementary kids about sustainable living. So sweet!

I cooked a meal for the first time since 7th grade, a simple beef bone soup, which came out surprisingly well. The beef was local, as is most of our meat now. I cannot wait to cook more in the weeks ahead. Tonight or tomorrow night I am making a steak dinner with my dad. 

Thoughts on things

"In every deliberation we must consider the 7th generation"

sustainability is an awareness

sustainability calls each of us to consider; is what we are doing harming the environment, ourselves, or others?

sustainability doesn't entail frugality, but it certainly calls for a more efficient use of technology. Purchasing a more energy efficient refrigerator may cost $180 more, however you save $31 on electricity annually so that in 10 years you have a $310 payback, that is  10.5% interest, much, much better than if that $180 was put in the bank. It is also requires less effort and produces a greater impact than if you were to concentrate on unplugging your cell phone charger, or turn off lights in unoccupied rooms

Sustainability is simply looking ahead

Well, time to go sledding, the old fashion mode of snow sliding. 

You kids and your fancy snowboards and chairlifts.....

P.S Miss Gergely I will answer all your questions when I get back

 

 

Thoughts on Things

Brotherrrrr, this post took a while. Blogger got testy and underlined every sentence I wrote. Now I'm testy. However I shall trod onward.

The topic at hand:

Paralysis in Chaos
(apologies in advance for the preachy tone)

Here's the question-Why do we acknowledge that we are facing major environmental catastrophes, and yet act as if they don't exist?  For that matter, why do we acknowledge any problem, poverty, drug abuse, human rights violations, etc., and then not work towards a solution.
 Are we calloused? Are we desensitized? Is it human nature to not care until the issue directly affects us? Or, are we just downright lethargic, soulless egocentric, snobby, god forbid I say it, fat, Americans who love nothing then to watch others fail?
Nope.
No, I don't believe its any of those, or at-least those aren't the game changers.


I think we are just overwhelmed.

We are bombarded with more information than ever before; from Lipitor adds telling us heart attacks are lurking around the corner, to the NY Times pleasantly informing us about a recent airport bombing in Russia.
What happened to the good ole days before t.v; a time when your greatest problem was that your cow was infertile?
Well, they're gone, and we're tired of looking up at a growing pile of issues. Our necks are hurting so we stop staring and go play x-box.
COD

So what does this have to do with sustainability? Well, if we want to have a pretty planet, and sushi, and timber, and ultimately peace, we need to stop ignoring the pile.

And if your not buying that we have environmental problems go read a national geographic.
It is downright depressing.
But, the fact is it is reality and we need to embrace the hope and....
Take action!
We need to feel empowered, and realize we don't have to do it all, just what we can.
Just what you can


I found it quite amusing when this same question was the starting point of Al Gores book, Earth In Balance; there is something about saving the planet that brings up the same questions.

and that's another thing...
I am noticing a hefty amount of repetition in the books I am reading.  The same phrases appear again and again in these "green " books: sprawl, global warming, organic, wales, peak oil. sustainability is a hackneyed phrase. It applies to too much, and thus almost nothing.  Im going to come up with my own phrases.


Resovicentiminism.

Daily Diddlydaddle:

Shout out to.....

My mama for picking up Liz Walker's book Choosing a Sustainable Future

The flamboyant Ryan Hallisey, and beautiful Melinda Casey for the rides

and Nick Bellisario for being a good sport about me getting his seats all sweaty after workouts,

and for telling me that diesel trucks now use a urea-injection exhaust to emit less pollution. 

(yes urea, as in sweat.) 

Sometimes saving the world is gross

living the life

The bicycle was invented around 1876 by a father and son, Pierre and Ernest Michaux. Bicycles soon became the rave; a casual form of transport intended for balmy days and to support the rumps of gentleman in derby hats.



Today was not a balmy day. I didn't have a derby hat. It was snowing, and as I wrestled my rusty old bike chain into submission,  I said to myself, "what are you doing..."

I mean really.

 I am freezing my hands, and I am trying to film myself.
Every time I want to take footage I have to....

•  find a place to put the camera (say a rock)
•  walk away
• then do what ever it is I find worthy of filming (gallantly riding my bike away into the sun)
• look around
• if I see anyone: smack my head to act as if I forgot something( to not look like a nut doing circles in a parking lot.)
• turn around
• bike back
• shut off the camera. 

Oh shoot I forgot to press record.
Take 2

Trust me, being your own actor, director, scriptwriter, and bike mechanic is no cakewalk


So anyways....
I arrived at Greenstar, ears an unnaturally blue pigment, and hustled into the cozy smell of grocery store.
I plopped the camera down on a shelf, and walked past it with pencil and paper in hand. I noted my hands were no longer numb, avoided the awkward stares, and realized there are lots of local foods available in winter.

Well not lots, but enough that I won't whither away gasping "please no more winter squash..."

Ya, ill be ok.




Biking into school tomorrow...

Baby Steps

DISCLAIMER- long post....


Maybe it was the nasally snores of my conked-out friend, resounding through the room, or the unwavering rush from shenanigans of earlier hours, but I just couldn't fall asleep last night.
Naturally my mind wandered to my project...

Why haven't you posted in the last 4 days...
Shoot you forgot to read the electric meter...
The Library doesn't have Eat Where You Live...
No Impact Man....
CFCs....
Garbage crisis....

Yes, it was a exuberant saturday night.



So there is a lot to say, and at the same time not much to say, and here's why--

I have not been following my two week plan, I will admit. By today I was hoping to have a small sampler of the footage I have taken, an interview set up, and a basic idea of what local foods are available.Unfortunately I have little to show for 5 days on the job.
However not all is lost, I have been doing work, but it has consisted mostly of research, and recording energy usage (see below for my annual environmental impact of living at my moms house)

I am in the process of reading these bad boys--

• Earth in the Balance     by none other than Al Gore. I'm not sure how useful this book will be for practicality, but philosophically it puts you in an environmental activist mindset. An enlightening, more articulate version of Inconvenient Truth.

• Sustainable America      a bit dry from the little I scanned, but there seem to be nuggets of helpful info

• Green Guide      put out by National Geographic, gets down to the nitty-gritty consumer choices (should I wear disposable diapers to school or the more retro cloth ones)

last but not least, and my favorite so far...

• The Consumers Guide to Effective Environmental Choices      written by scientists (they have Ph.Ds, they must be right)
  

 So far this book has corroborated a notion I already had-- that small personal changes, like not using disposable cups, napkins, or plastic bags, are not substantial enough to address the environmental problems we face. As Dominic Frongillo, the leader of Energy Independent Caroline, told me last week. "We are facing enormous challenges and enormous challenges require enormous changes" (not a direct quote, I'll upload the video interview sometime soon. The man knows is a genious)

It is silly, if not dangerous, to feel satisfied with mediocre shifts in consumerism and environmental policy. The answer does not lie in consuming less, but consuming more of  what we need (clean water, fresh healthy food, fun with friends and family) and less of what we want (on the go hamburgers, tank size SUVs), and doing so in a sustainable manner. It is not that consumers can't make a difference, the book cites the inspiring story of how consumers pioneered recycling and saved the ozone layer from destructive CFCs, but changes that alter our consumptious daily living-- buying only local as opposed to throwing away a spray can with CFC propellant---are much harder to make. We need to start demanding, and living, those harder changes.


To wrap this up (if you've read up to this point you're a trooper, give yourself a high-five) I would like to reflect upon the direction of my project->

Yesterday I watched No Impact Man, for those of you who haven't seen the film it's about a man, Colin Beavan, and his family of wife and kid, who try, to live a year without having an environmental impact. There is lots to be said about the film, but my general impression of the film was --

No Impact Man's project was a lot like mine, write a blog and make a documentary. He took radical steps, like not using a refrigerator in the scorching NY City summer heat, that were intended to raise awareness. And raise awareness he did, Colin has been featured on nearly every news show. However, I finished the film feeling enthused, but disappointed in the lack of reflection. There was very little discussion over the big picture. I saw trees, but not the forest.

And so My Revelation, which I always get after finishing a film, was:

He made a fine movie and he raised awareness, but if he wanted to do even more he shouldn't have asked "what can I do?", but "what can we do?" Towards the end of the film he talked about how we are loosing a sense of community and consequently a sense that our choices impact others. I wish he had concentrated more on this idea .
Community Impact Man 2?


Watching No Impact Man inspired me to get more involved in the community for my project- at Caroline Elementary, in local government, etc.

We will have to wait and see what direction I take. I now know it will be more than just what I can do.


By the way day one of no driving starts tomorrow. Yay!!



P.S this is what the environmental calculator (http://www.lowimpactliving.com/pages/impact-calculator/impact-calculator) has told me---





Annual Environmental Impact
Rough Estimate

Water

50,000 GAL

Energy

217 MBTU

Carbon Dioxide

35,000 LBS

Wastewater

49,800 GAL

Runoff

50,200 GAL

Trash

1,740 LBS

Fun on Day One

Its official, there will be no more English-- no more critical lens essays, no more papers, no more searching for motifs or themes. There was a nice buzz of excitement in the air today because of this liberation.
Let me relish this for a second, hold on.




 Ok
So here is the Plan Stan.

I've been trimming what little footage I have, and I am attempting to get more footage of daily living.
Because I don't have a camera on me at all times, I am missing some quality shots. 
For true (Micheal Moore level) documentaries they take hundreds of hours of film and narrow it down to a little over one hour. 

So Filming is half the battle for me, and  to keep myself on track I am hoping to post mini video updates. 
For all of you who don't want to read these verbose posts-- smile.



Just to recap on today, (ill be quick mama bear says dinner time)...

I met with Mrs. Gergely-- my WISE teacher and mentor for my project

I forgot to get books from the library, but will do so tomorrow

I looked what exactly I have to put into the environmental calculator I am using (its pretty cool. check it out
http://www.lowimpactliving.com/pages/impact-calculator/impact-calculator)

I've realized that I don't have to be so anal as to record everytime I flush a toilet or use the sink, although my sister insists I should....

I met the startling conclusion that I have no clue how to read the electric meter on the side of the house, nor did I know where it was... any help would be much appreciated

and lastly I was informed by Mrs. G that in my last post I forgot to capitalize English, and spelled gauge and probably copious amounts of other words wrong.

Grammer Gods please forgive me.

Time to eat dinner:
Organic pasta. How righteous.

The 2 Week Plan

Walking the Walk....


WEEK 1
The first week is all about gaging my environmental impact in one week:


Monday-

Download video footage already taken. Record miles driven, times using dishwasher, times using stove, etc.

Tuesday-

Take books out of the library: The Consumers Guide to Effective Environmental Choices     Just Food: Where Locavores Get it Wrong     How We Can Truly Eat Sustainable and Eat Where You Live 

start reading. Keep recording environmental impact

Wednesday-

Contact Liz Walker, author of Choosing A Sustainable Future.  Keep recording environmental impact

Thursday-

Go to Ludgates, Brooktons Market, Greenstar, The Piggery. Make a list of local foods. keep recording...

Friday-

Keep reading. Set up interview with local farmer, local self-sustaining neighbor, or local passive solar house owner. keep recording

Saturday-

Set up cooking classes for next week. Read about local eating. 2 more days left of recoding

Sunday-

Plug all information into online environmental calculator. Create excel graph for water usage, electricity usage, money spent, miles driven etc. to be used for the next 16 weeks



WEEK 2
and here we go...

Monday-

Contact carpool buy local food. keep reading and recording

Tuesday-

Bike to school. Contact another interview candidate. Keep reading and recording

Wednesday-

Contact home retrofitter to look at how drafty the house is.  Keep reading and recording

Thursday-

Carpool. Read. Take cooking class

Friday-

Reflect on how project is going.

Saturday-

Read. interview. record

Sunday-

Calculate impact for week

16 Week Manifesto

Dear Beautiful Reader,

I am super excited that you are reading this-- one, because you are either someone completely lost in the worldwide web, which is pretty funny( no this is not the blog on Japanese woodworking techniques,) or you are someone who knows, and hopefully supports, me-- my english teacher, my friend, or my parents. But, no matter who you are, if you're here you might as well stay ....

So I am a high school senior caught in the whirlwind of figuring out my future (at least for the next 4 years).In my search to lead a successful life, and to not fail 12th grade english, I am going to  adopt a sustainable lifestyle. Now what does that even mean? I am not sure- I am looking to find out. 

However, what I do know is that 21st century living is high impact living. I know that we live in turbulent times and face major environmental problems. I know I consume too much-- too much electricity, too much bad food, just too much stuff. But, I know it doesn't have to be this way. I have a say... don't I?

And so in an effort to lower my environmental impact I am going to become a locavore/ minimalist. No, I don't plan on wearing clothes only hand knitted from locally harvested health. No, not that drastic. Well, maybe, you'll have to wait and see....

But why? Why change my habits?

I want to walk the walk and not talk the talk.

We live in an extreamely fragile ecosystem, but most of us live like the world is just for us. As a friend put it, "It's amazing that we actively destroy the processes that support our us". If everyone lived as the average American does, and most people wish they could, we would need 5 planets.
We don't have 5 planets....

So I give money to oil companies I don't like, and I eat food that has taken a journey halfway around the world only for the connivence of being purchased and eaten in the fastest and easiest fashion. Like an alcoholic-- as guilty and self-loathing I feel--I always come back for more. And why? Because change is hard, and in this fast-paced life we look for the quick and easy.
So here is what I'm going to do...



I am going to make a film that paints a portrait of my own journey towards sustainable living. I hope to lower my environmental impact as much as possible.

My focus is on these four questions--

What constitutes sustainability?
Can I "leave no trace"?
Can you?
Can we?



I don't know, lets go find out.